Category: News

On November 26, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian participated in the Eastern Partnership Informal Ministerial Dialogue in Tbilisi, attended by Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, and Helga Schmid, Deputy Secretary General for the External Action Service.

Addressing the meeting, Minister Nalbandian said:

The European Neighborhood Policy has played a substantial role in promoting and deepening the cooperation between Armenia and the EU. We highly appreciate the EU’s continued support and assistance provided to our country over the years, which has been instrumental for the effective implementation and sustainability of the reform process and institutional capacity building in Armenia.

Armenia welcomed the European Neighborhood Policy review process. We highly appreciated the initiative of High Representative Mogherini and Commissioner Hahn to engage the partner countries in this process. We are pleased to note that the outcome of the EU Council deliberations of the last week duly reflected the principle of differentiation to be applied to the partners, taking into account the progress made in implementation of their commitments in the areas of democratic reforms.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank you, Johannes, and ask you to convey my gratitude also to Federica for your joint letter on the ENP review process that I have received a week ago and assure that we share the ideas contained therein.

Dear colleagues,

Since our last meeting in Minsk some important developments have taken place. I would like to note with satisfaction, the decision of the EU Council authorizing the European Commission and the High Representative to open negotiations on a new agreement with Armenia.

The negotiations will be launched in coming days and I am hopeful that through the active process of deliberations we will be able to reach an agreement on a new framework document that will reflect the essence and depth of our bilateral relations and set new guidelines for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Following the successful negotiations of last month, we look forward to signing in coming days the agreements on Armenia’s participation in a number of EU programs, such as “Horizon 2020”, and the Program for Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises (COSME). In the area of transport, the Government of Armenia has expressed its readiness to conclude a common aviation agreement, following the liberalization of the aviation market through the Open Skies Policy.

We attach great importance to people to people contacts, and view enhanced mobility of our citizens as an important prerequisite for bringing our societies closer. It is almost two years now that the EU-Armenia Visa Facilitation and Readmission agreements are being implemented. We do believe that it is high time to move further and launch a dialogue on visa liberalization with an understanding that this is a reform oriented process.

Dear colleagues,

The Government of Armenia is committed to advancing the reforms aimed at development and consolidation of the democratic institutions and good governance, protection and promotion of human rights, strengthening the rule of law and the independence of judiciary. With this in mind, the President of Armenia has initiated the process of constitutional reform. If approved in referendum on December 6 it will transform Armenia’s semi-presidential model of governance into the parliamentary one.

According to the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe “the work carried out by the Constitutional Commission of Armenia is of extremely high quality and deserves to be supported and welcomed” . It also stated that the draft text of the Constitution is in line with international standards.

Dear colleagues,

Armenia well recognizes the importance of inclusive cooperation in different formats. We hold the view that it is possible to make best use of various integration frameworks employing more visionary approach. Since our joining the Eurasian Economic Union, and even before, we have been advocating for a rationale that builds on opportunities provided by different integration formats while avoiding undue creation of new dividing lines in the larger neighborhood. We want to make best use of our participation in the Eurasian Economic Union and at the same time develop mutually beneficial possible cooperation with the European Union.

Dear colleagues,

We look forward to advancing our efforts in the framework of both Eastern Partnership and European Neighborhood Policy and we are confident that we will continue to proceed in the right direction, based on shared values and respect of each other’s decisions and choices.

Thank you.

Photo: Getty Images

Italian police in the northern city of Trieste have seized nearly 800 shotguns en route from Turkey to Belgium, the BBC reports.

The firearms were found packed in individual boxes aboard a Dutch-registered truck that arrived on a ferry in the port city.

Although customs rules were not broken, the Turkish driver did not have licences for the weapons, police said.

Controls at Italian ports have been stepped up in the wake of the 13 November Paris terror attacks.

EU interior ministers meeting in Brussels last week agreed to tighten security and share more information about the gun trade to prevent trafficking of illegal weapons.

It came after attackers with semi-automatic rifles and suicide belts killed 130 people at a number of sites in Paris. Some of the attackers had lived in Belgium.

The Syrian army has thwarted terrorists’ attempt to counterattack near Palmyra as it continues its offensive south and east of the western province of Homs, the Syrian army spokesman told reporters.

“The Syrian armed forces are advancing on the enemy south and east of Homs and have inflicted heavy losses on terrorists who tried and failed to counterattack north of the city of Attamsi, and southeast of Yul-Sahri near Palmyra, Sputnik News reports.

Many ISIL terrorists were killed and a number of their machine gun trucks were destroyed,” Brigadier General Ali Mayhoub said at a news briefing in Latakia.

The Syrian armed forces have destroyed a number of terrorist strongholds at Harasta outside Damascus seizing large amounts of weapons and ammunition and defusing hundreds of landmines, planted by the terrorists.

“We have destroyed a terrorist unit in Deraa, in the south, liberated a local refugee camp and taken out a terrorist unit southeast of the local energy company headquarters. Several columns of enemy trucks have also been destroyed near Deraa,” the general added.

The ancient Syrian city of Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Islamic State jihadist group militants have destroyed multiple sites of historic architecture in Palmyra, including its ancient temples of Bel and Baalshamin, since they had captured the city in May.

Today, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Denmark Christian Dons Christensen (residence in Kiev) presented his credentials to the President of Armenia.

President Sargsyan congratulated the Ambassador on his nomination and wished him success during his tenure in our country. Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia is ready to deepen her relations with the Kingdom of Denmark in bilateral as well as multilateral formats. In the framework of development of the interstate relations, the President of Armenia stressed the importance of expanding the legal framework aimed at the development of cooperation in different areas, invigoration of high level reciprocal visits, enhancement of the interparliamentary ties, as well as close cooperation in the framework of international structures.

The President expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by the Kingdom of Denmark to the ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia. Serzh Sargsyan underscored that the Armenian people deeply appreciate assistance of Denmark in the organization on April 19 in the Copenhagen Cathedral of the Ecumenical prayer dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The President stressed the importance of the statement adopted by the Danish parliament in relation to the Armenian Genocide which, according to Serzh Sargsyan, is an important step towards the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

The Danish Ambassador expressed gratitude to the President of Armenia for warm welcome and congratulations and assured that during his tenure in office he would spare no effort to deepen the Danish-Armenian relations which hold great potential and to strengthen bilateral relations. Ambassador Christensen underscored that Denmark views Armenia as a good partner, cooperation with which should be deepened.

At the meeting, the President of Armenia and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark discussed also current regional and international problems, and the Nagorno Karabakh peace process.

France is to hold a national memorial service for the 130 people who died in the Paris attacks two weeks ago, the BBC reports.

Friday’s service in central Paris will bring together 1,000 people, including President Francois Hollande as well as survivors and victims’ families.

A minute’s silence will be held and the names of all the victims read out.

Attackers with assault rifles and suicide belts targeted a number of sites in the capital. Islamic State later said it was behind the assault.

In a series of co-ordinated attacks on 13 November, the gunmen opened fire on restaurants and bars in the city and stormed a concert hall, where 89 people were shot dead.

Three more attackers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, after staff denied them entry to a football match between France and Germany.

More than 350 people were injured in the attacks – the worst in recent French history.

Vice-President of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov has expressed concern over the downing of the Russian Su-24 jet by Turkey.

“Downing a military jet fighting terrorism means supporting terrorists,” Shermazanov said at a meeting with Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin.

“The downing of an Armenian helicopter by Turkey’s little brother Azerbaijan last year created an impression among the Turkish political leadership that such crimes could go unpunished,” he said.

“Unfortunately, Turkey has not changed over the past 100 years,” Sharmazanov added.

Edward Sharmazanov stressed that “Armenia welcomes the draft bill submitted to the Russian State Duma, which envisages accountability for the denial of the Armenian Genocide, as improper assessment of past crimes bears new ones, including the terrorist acts we are witnessing today.”

Sergey Naryshkin said, in turn, that the downing of the Russian jet was a ‘stab in the back,’ which is peculiar to cowards.

“Definitely, it’s the fault of the Turkish political leadership, not the people. The Turkish leadership will still regret that heavy crime,” he said.

Two prominent Turkish journalists have been charged with espionage after alleging that Turkey’s secret services sent arms to Islamist rebels in Syria, the BBC reports.

Can Dundar, the editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet daily, and Erdem Gul, the paper’s Ankara bureau chief, face life imprisonment if found guilty.

Their report and video footage attracted a political storm in Turkey and a lawsuit filed by the president.

Turkey faces severe criticism over its press freedom record.

The journalists, who deny the allegations against them, reported that trucks belonging to the Turkish intelligence agency MIT were used to carry weapons to Islamist opposition groups in Syria.

Video footage published alongside their report purported to show Turkish police officers intercepting the trucks and discovering crates containing weapons and ammunition.

– A delegation comprising members of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, the ARF Bureau representative Hagop Der Khatchadourian, Fr. Keghart Kosbakian, pastor of the St. Nshan Armenian Apostolic church of Cambridge, and members of the Vancouver Armenian community were joined by members and representatives of the local Winnipeg Armenian community at an event organized by the Canadian Human Right’s Museum dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. To commemorate the anniversary, the museum had organized a special evening, which took place on Wednesday, November 25, with renowned Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan and actress Arsinée Khandjian.

The museum is the realization of the dream of Canadian philanthropist Dr. Israel Asper, who aspired to create a place where Canadians could learn and promote human rights issues. The Armenian National Committee of Canada, the largest and most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots organization, had been collaborating with the museum since the project was first initiated. The event marking the centennial of the Armenian Genocide was an initiative from the Museum to commemorate the memory of one of the first human right’s largest calamities of the 20^th century, which acted as precedence to later genocides and atrocities around the world.

The event began with a guided tour of the museum, which encompasses 10 galleries that contain both parts of Canadian and International history presented through a high-tech, multi-media based interactive portal. During the guided tour, a large portion was spent accentuating the Breaking the Silence gallery, which focuses on the importance to break the silence about world human rights violations and atrocities and explores the role of denial and secrecy in the promotion and continuation of genocides. It includes a focused examination of the Ukrainian Holodomor, the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide and the Srebrenica Genocide in Bosnia. In the gallery, there was a greater emphasis placed on the importance of education of the Armenian Genocide, as mentioned by the museum tour guide.

Before the beginning of the official event, Svetlana Gharagyozyan of the Manitoba Opera gave a live musical performance for those present in the Bonnie and John Buhler hall.

John Young, director of the Museum gave the opening remarks and hosted the evening.

Armenian National Committee of Canada representative Shahen Mirakian spoke on behalf of the organization thanking guests for attending the event and emphasized the importance of the ANCC grassroots movement in making a change in the world by collaboration with different communities to fight against all forms of human rights violations. He also thanked Dr. Asper for this visionary undertaking, as well as the Museum and fellow Canadians for standing up and raising awareness for human rights issues.

Mr. Haig Vanlian took the podium on behalf of the Winnipeg Armenian community, thanking Canada for being an exemplary country and a beacon of compassion and humanitarian work. In his speech, he remembered the Georgetown Boys, Canada’s first act of humanitarian aid on an international scale, which brought orphaned Armenian boys and girls to a farm in Georgetown, and who later became model citizens that contributed to the Canadian society. He emphasized that the Armenian Genocide is still denied to this day by the Turkish Government, however with such endeavors as the Canadian Human Rights Museum in Manitoba, the demand for recognition and reparation is foreseeable. He stated that: “As we listen to the news these days, the Syrian refugee stories, the Syrian Armenian minority refugee stories, we remember the victims of the past…ethnicity and religion are being used as basis of percussion. Preventing genocide is the personal responsibility of every individual around the world.”

Fr. Keghart Kosbakian spoke on behalf of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He shared a short anecdote about knowing and coming to terms with the truth and reality of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the impact it still has on people today. He said that our efforts and mandate should be concentrated on educating on the matter and as such, the Museum offers the Canadian perspective by remembering the past and transmitting the education to the present. On behalf of the Prelate Bishop Meghrig Parikian, he thanked the Museum for their commitment.

In a short speech, Museum director John Young affirmed: “we want to educate our visitors to examine facts”. He went on to say that in the section in the Museum dedicated to the Armenian Genocide has photos shot by German soldier Armin T. Wagner, who went against direct orders and took pictures of the atrocities he witnessed. Examples of such facts are found through the Armenian Genocide section. The Breaking the Silence exhibit is followed by Actions Count gallery, which promotes visitors to think about concrete actions to counter understand and prevent genocide. It exemplifies Raphael Lemkin who coined the term genocide, based on the atrocities committed against the Armenian people, as well as his own family during the Second World War. It also shows the Canadian government’s first international humanitarian act of bringing in orphaned Armenian young boys and girls, which later came to be known as the Georgetown Boys. Mr. Young also stated that a short film is in the works, set to release in Spring 2016 about the Armenian Genocide, which will be screened in the Breaking the Silence gallery for visitors to see.

Atom Egoyan took the podium and opened a conversation about the Armenian Genocide. In his speech he thanked the Museum for taking on this massive order of representing human right’s issues. While speaking about his 2002 critically acclaimed filmArarat, which won Best Canadian film at the Genie Awards, he said his role was not to prepare a documentary about the Armenian Genocide. His intent was to get the viewer think and draw different lessons tied in the memory of genocide. By using scenes from the film within the film, he did a parallel between two scenes to demonstrate the very-present stereotype found in the descendants of genocide survivors. He pointed out the importance of narratives, and the important role education plays in transmitting knowledge from generation to generation. In the film, the role of the actors portraying Turkish generals represents the view of modern day Turkey, one of complete denial and lies. He ended his speech stating that without compassion we cannot have hope for reconciliation, and as long as denial is present, there is no place for compassion.

Arsinée Khandjian then continued in the conversation. She thanked the Museum, and stated how happy she was for finally having the opportunity to visit the Museum, with the different galleries. She noted that Canada has welcomed people form all over the world and this Museum pays homage to that. She pointed out that this year marked the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, which arose a sense of urgency in many to actively commemorate and remember. She stated that Armenians are always reminded through memory, stories, testimonies, academic literature, different proofs of the reality of the genocide, and cannot abandon their cause. This is not only a history proper to Armenians, but it belongs to the pages of world history and as such, the international community has its role to play and bares universal responsibility in the fight against denial. She mentioned that Hrant Dink stood up for the recognition in a country where at the time, there was little support within the Turkish community to openly speak about this topic. Now, one hundred years later, citizens in Turkey are standing up on the right side of history, and standing up for Hrant Dink and the proper recognition. She mentioned the twelve first occurrences of how denial takes over and shadows reality and stated that Armenians, Turks and the international community together hav
e to stand up and combat this silence and denial, not only to honor the past, but also to create a better now. If not, she stated humankind simply ceases to be kind.

The event ended with a Question period from attendees address to both Atom Egoyan and Arsinée Khandjian, which inquired about any repercussions felt during and after the release of the filmArarat, as well as the importance story telling plays in the continuation of remembrance. Both Arom and Arsinée took the time to answe all questions with great pleasure.

Four members of the gang, which operated under the guise of religion, were neutralized as a result of a special operation conducted by the Azerbaijani law enforcement representatives in Baku’s Nardaran settlement, Trend reports, quoting a joint statement made by the Interior Ministry and Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan. Another 14 members of the gang have been arrested.

The law enforcement bodies say that Tale Bagirov, Elman Agayev, Zulfigar Mikailov and Abulfaz Buniyadov created the Muslim Unity movement for the purpose of changing the constitutional system of the country by force and creating a religious state, governed by the Shariah laws.

The four gathered with their supporters in various parts of the country and in Baku, providing them with different kinds of firearms, ammunition, explosive substances.

In addition, by holding illegal assemblies in Nardaran settlement, they discussed ways to organize rebellion in the country against the authorities and instructed their supporters in this connection, as well as spread leaflets among the population.

In order to detain those people the Interior Ministry held a special operation in Nardaran settlement of Baku. During the operation the police officers faced resistance the criminals used firearms and a hand grenade.

A special operative group killed four members of the criminal grouping and wounded several others.

Two police officers were also killed.

Automatic guns, a hand grenade and cold arms were confiscated from the spot. The criminal grouping and 14 people led by Tale Bagirov were detained. A criminal proceeding has been instituted into the case, investigation is underway.